The Mystery Clause
by Azura Nyx
Summary: It’s Christmas time in Atlantis, and everyone on the base has their holiday stockings set out for the ‘Secret Santa’ gift exchange. However, when Dr. Keller receives a particularly elaborate present she begins to speculate who this 'gift' is from.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **The Mystery Clause

**Author: **Azura Nyx

**Characters: **Jennifer Keller/Rodney McKay, Ronon Dex, Carson Beckett

**Type: **Romance/Holiday/Drama

**Length: **2,000 words, 4 Chapters

**Warnings/Author's Notes: **Spoilers from "The Kindred Part II." I hope everyone who reads this will enjoy it, and comments are great! Merry Christmas!

**Rating: **PG (K+) for a small amount of swearing.

**Summary: **It's Christmas time in Atlantis, and everyone on the base has their holiday stockings set out for the 'Secret Santa' gift exchange. However, when Dr. Keller receives a particularly elaborate present she begins to relentlessly speculate who this 'gift' is from.

**The Mystery Clause**

_**Chapter 1**_

Atlantis was absolutely beautiful around Christmas time. Granted, snow was nowhere to be found and the waters surrounding the city were not frozen, but the holiday decorations made it feel like Christmas to Dr. Jennifer Keller all the same.

Everybody on Atlantis celebrated Christmas in their own way. Some had very different customs, but the one thing everybody did was set out a stocking for the 'Secret Santa' gift exchange.

One day, Jennifer curiously looked into her Christmas stocking which was hanging up on the wall just outside her quarters. She smiled and eagerly slid her hand into the stocking, revealing a small, black jewelry case. With a pensive expression upon her face, Dr. Keller opened the box. It was a gorgeous diamond bracelet. Real diamonds too! Not the fake, cheap kind.

"Oh my God," Keller softly exclaimed. Who in Atlantis would be crazy enough to give away _real _diamonds- a stone only found in the Milky Way galaxy?

Jennifer closed the box and entered her dorm. It was already quite late in the evening and she hoped there wouldn't be any medical emergencies barring her from necessary rest.

Before turning off the lamp and snuggling under the covers, Dr. Keller picked up the jewelry box from her night stand and peeked at the bracelet once more. She couldn't believe how luminous it was; small and delicate. So beautiful. Jennifer suspected that whoever bought the gift for her paid a lot of money for it. The problem being: who in the world has _that _sort of money on Atlantis? She honestly felt that whoever gave her this present went too far out of their way.

As Keller sat the case back on the night stand and comfortably situated herself under the blankets, she pondered over the mysterious gift until she fell asleep at last.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2**_

The next day came and, like always, Dr. Keller woke up, got dressed, and headed to the infirmary around 6am to check on her patients. What she changed about today, however, is she decided to wear the new bracelet that was given to her with the anticipation someone would notice and give her a hint as to who it was from. All Jennifer wanted to do was thank the man who gave her the bracelet.

"Hey, Carson! Feeling better," cheerily asked Keller as she glided the privacy curtain aside.

"Yeah! Much better. A little tired, but… I don't believe it's anything to worry about," Carson assuredly replied.

Subtly playing with her diamond bracelet, Dr. Keller reasoned, "Perhaps that is due to the withdrawal from Michael's drug?"

Carson shrugged his shoulders. "Your guess is as good as mine." His eyes trailing to the piece of jewelry, he continued, "What is this? A bracelet, is it? Alright, who is he?"

Okay. So, it wasn't Dr. Beckett who gave her the bracelet.

Jennifer blinked her eyes, slightly astonished by Carson's response. "Uh… n-no one."

"Uh-huh…."

"Carson!"

Flailing his arms skeptically, Carson replied to the punishing Jennifer, "Alright, alright. There's no need to fret, love. If ye don't want to tell me who it is-"

"There's nothing _to_ tell," interrupted Keller, a small grin curling upon her lip. When Beckett didn't answer, all Jennifer found she could say is, "Look. I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so rude. Just… if you start feeling weak, sick, or anything at all let me know. Okay?"

Carson nodded in affirmation. "Yes, of course."


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3**_

Ten o'clock the same morning rolled around and Dr. Keller wasn't at all surprised when Ronon stopped by to get a wound treated from a sparring accident. Regardless of how many times Jennifer told him to make his practices a little less strenuous, the relentless Satedan managed to acquire a small injury of some kind at least once a day.

Keller patted the mattress, signaling for Dex to sit on it. After he did so, Jennifer inquired, "So what did you do now?" Over the years Dr. Keller and Ronon knew each other, the question has become an inside joke between them.

The Satedan grinned and proudly hinted to a big gash on his left arm.

Jennifer grabbed her stitching kit and raised an eyebrow. "Swords today, I take it?"

"Yeah. It was Teyla's idea," sardonically implied Ronon.

"Somehow, I have trouble believing that," Keller teased.

As the doctor patched up Dex's wound, Ronon noticed the iridescent shimmer from Jennifer's diamond bracelet.

"What are those stones? I've never seen them before," a curious Dex inquired.

Although Keller had to admit she wanted the gift to be from Ronon, it was now fairly clear that wasn't the scenario.

"Oh! They're called 'diamonds,'" explained Dr. Keller. "Someone gave it to me as a Christmas present this year, but since they did so anonymously I'm kind of thrown for a loop as to who put it in my stocking."

Not comprehending the situation, Dex remarked, "Isn't the whole 'anonymous' thing _supposed_ to be 'secret?' Like where you aren't supposed to know who the gift is from?"

"Not always. There are instances where you can find out who gave you the present."

"So… it's 'secret,' but not?"

Keller hesitated slightly over Ronon's question. "Um… kind of…."

"Well, if you want some help as to who gave you the bracelet, I think I know who it was," offered Dex.

"Yeah?! Who?"

"Dr. McKay."

Jennifer quickly peered up at Ronon for a few seconds. She thought he was joking and began to laugh, but when he seemed puzzled by her reaction she understood he was entirely sincere.

"Are you sure? I mean, Rodney and I hardly even talk," commented Dr. Keller.

Dex nodded affirmatively. "I know it was him. A few days ago, I heard Drs. Beckett and McKay talking about a diamond bracelet and a stocking. Of course, I had no idea what those items were at the time."

After making one last stitch on Ronon's arm, Keller said, "Well, it looks like you're all patched up! I know you're probably not going to listen to this advice anyway, but try to be more careful during your sparring lessons."

Ronon stepped down from the bed and dry-humouredly responded, "You're right. I probably won't be more careful, so I'll see you tomorrow. Oh! And thanks!"

As the Satedan walked out of the infirmary, Jennifer began smirking in amusement. However, that smile gradually changed into a contemplative expression. She started to wonder if maybe… just maybe he was right. _No_, Keller thought. _Why would he give me such an elaborate gift when he barely looks me in the eyes_?


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 4**_

After returning from her lunch break, Dr. Keller strolled back into the infirmary. Rodney barged into the room not even a minute later.

"Some stupid idiot forgot to put away the Wraith translator device and I tripped over it," exclaimed Dr. McKay as he limped over to a bed. "Oh, God! I think my leg is broken."

Keller walked to McKay and lifted up his pant leg over the supposedly injured leg. As she fully expected, it wasn't broken.

"Rodney, you're fine," an unconcerned Dr. Keller said.

"Fine?! How could I possibly be _fine_? I twisted my foot pretty damn badly when I fell!"

"Exactly! Your foot is _sprained_. It's hardly serious."

The only reply Jennifer received from Rodney was a disapproving grunt.

Attempting to strike up conversation as she wrapped an Ace Bandage around McKay's sprained foot, Keller decided to ignore Dr. McKay's gesture and happily implied, "Did you see this gorgeous bracelet someone gave me for Christmas?"

McKay didn't even look up to see the piece of jewelry as he blankly responded, "Oh. Yeah. Pretty. Well, I should head back to the tech lab before Zelenka blows it up."

"Oh, no you don't," Jennifer insisted, stopping the astrophysicist from standing up. "You gave me this diamond bracelet, didn't you?"

"Hmm? I did? You must be mistaken," commented Rodney.

Jennifer removed the bracelet from her wrist. "Am I? Well, then I guess… I have no use for it." She strolled over to the window, opened up the pane and dangled the expensive piece of jewelry over the large bounty of Atlantian Ocean. Should the doctor happen to 'drop it,' there would be no way the bracelet could be obtained again.

"Good God, Jennifer! Have you completely lost your _mind_," exasperatedly yelled Rodney as he ran towards her. Once he yanked the bracelet from Keller he gawked at the doctor in shock, apparently waiting for her to explain her insanity. However, when Jennifer smirked broadly and didn't utter a word, Dr. McKay realized precisely what he just fell for. "Fine! Alright! I gave you the damn bracelet," Rodney snappily admitted. "Are you happy now?"

Crossing her arms contemptuously, Keller responded, "No, actually. It wouldn't have killed you to tell me your feelings. I've known you for a short while, but even _I _have come to understand you're always hiding your true emotions- refusing to make others aware of your thoughts simply because you're too afraid of rejection."

"Rejection, huh," a very irritated McKay bellowed, narrowing his eyes. "Is that what you honestly think? Haven't you ever once considered the notion that my '_feelings_' and '_emotions_' are _not _what you assume they are, hmm?"

Studying his eyes fixedly, Jennifer pointed out, "How can they not be when you always find some excuse to see me in the infirmary at least once a week?"

"That's not true."

"_Yes_, it is. Rodney, you _ran _towards mewhen you thought I was going to throw the diamond bracelet out of the window. If that's not a faked injury…." It was obvious by Dr. McKay's brooding silence that Jennifer wasn't only right on about him but that she also made him feel distressed. "Hey! I'm sorry," she apologized. "Um…where'd you get it? Did you gate to Earth and go shopping?"

"No. It…uh… was passed down to me from my grandmother, actually," a slightly nostalgic McKay began. "After she passed away she willed most of her jewelry to Jeannie but left that one trinket to me. To be honest, I haven't found much use for it until I gave it to you."

"Why did your grandmother give you the bracelet? Do you know?"

"No."

Shaking her head in bewilderment, Keller remarked, "Wow! I just… don't…n-not to sound ungrateful by any means, but why would you give me something this precious and close to your heart?

Dr. McKay shifted a little nervously. "You mean a lot to me, Jennifer. Even though we barely see each other, I feel closer and more…trusting of you than anyone else. I just haven't worked up the nerve to tell you until now which is why I gave you that gift instead. Don't get me wrong: I know giving someone a present doesn't compensate for actually showing affection, but… it's just the only way I knew how to tell you."

"Well… I know a way you could have told me," flirtatiously replied Jennifer. She stepped closer to Rodney and was nearly 6 inches from his face now. Both of them leaned in and kissed each other on the lips. At first, it was gentle but then it slowly grew more passionate.

Once they broke from their kiss, Rodney jokingly asked, "So… is this my Christmas present, then?"

"Oh, hell no," answered Jennifer as she giggled a little. "I believe I owe us some drinks later."


End file.
